Trio force 15-year-old into prostitution in Dubai, jailed

Two men and a woman have been sentenced to five years in jail on a human trafficking charge after they lured a 15-year-old girl to travel to Dubai to work as a dancer and then forced her into the flesh trade.
According to the public prosecution records, the three Pakistanis - aged 38, 32 and 27 - picked the victim up at the Dubai International Airport and then took her to a flat in Freej Al Murar, where they forced her to have sex with men for cash.The Court of First Instance found them guilty of the charges of human trafficking and running a flat as a prostitution den. Another Pakistani woman, 25, was jailed for three years for working in the flesh trade.
The police raids and arrests were made on January 28 this year in the Naif area.
The victim said the 32-year-old defendant arranged her papers to come to Dubai to work as a dancer at a nightclub after an agreement with her stepfather. "The two men on trial picked me up from the Dubai airport and took me to a flat in the Naif area on December 6 last year. The next day, they took me to another flat, where there were several women and I was told to work as a prostitute.
"The female defendant threatened that she would deny me any contact with my parents and prevent me from returning home. She also claimed back Dh1,800 as travel costs. I had no other choice but to work for them," the victim told the prosecutor.
A policeman said a reliable source tipped them off that the flat was being run as a prostitution den in Freej Al Murar, where an underage girl was forced into the flesh trade.
"We also knew the persons involved in the ring stayed in another flat in the same building. We sent an undercover police officer to the flat and pretend he was interested in having sex with the teenager. We raided the flat shortly after. It was one room partitioned by curtains. The victim told us that her real age was changed on her passport by her stepfather," the officer said.
The defendants can appeal their conviction verdicts within 15 days.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai